On Saturday, the team announced he had been activated to the 53-man roster, nearly cementing that he’d be in uniform yesterday.
“It was only one moment in warm-ups, and when I put my uniform on,’’ Faulk said of his excitement. “Then it was about helping my team win.’’
Faulk started and had 11 touches - six carries for 32 yards and five catches for 20 more - and also had a blitz pickup on the New England’s first touchdown. He said he made some mistakes, but Tom Brady , for one, was happy to have No. 33 back.
“It’s great. He’s such a sparkplug for our offense, and he does so many things well,’’ Brady said. “For a guy that hasn’t played football in a year, it didn’t look like it. He played hard, he played well. He made some big plays. I’m sure he’s going to be sore tomorrow; he took some big hits. It’s great to have him back.’’
In typical Faulk style, he wasn’t much for talking about his own comeback.
“I had a couple of mistakes out there, but winning the game was the most important thing, and we didn’t win the game,’’ he said.
He also cut a questioner off when New England’s recent success against Pittsburgh was brought up.
“That’s years before, not today,’’ he said. “Today they had success against us. That’s why they call it the Steel Curtain. No matter how previous games went, you still have to play the game on Sundays.’’
Mayo also returns
Linebacker Jerod Mayo returned to the field for the first time since he injured his knee against the Raiders Oct. 2.
“It is good to be back and just be around the fellas and the coaches, but it was too bad under these circumstances,’’ Mayo said.
The defensive captain didn’t play many snaps, but in watching his teammates he said the focus is to move forward.
“It’s just a bump in the road,’’ Mayo said. “These things happen throughout the season. We have to rebound next week.’’
Gronkowski receptive
